An eye-opening story of evil in a holy place.
The long-hidden story of the ultimate convent scandal, masterfully retold.
Accessing archival files first opened to the public by Pope John Paul II in 1998, Wolf (Ecclesiastical History/Univ. of Muenster) pieces together a mid-1800s inquisition trial of incendiary proportions. Set in the Roman convent of Sant’Ambrogio, the author lays out a perfect storm of scandal, involving heresy, decades of abuse, webs of sexual misconduct and murder. The story begins with a twice-widowed princess who, fulfilling a lifelong goal, entered the convent in 1858. Within less than a year, she escaped, fearing for her life. Her testimony began an investigation that would uncover the secret world of Sant’Ambrogio. Wolf’s narrative centers on Vincenzo Leone Sallua, the investigating judge who systematically uncovered and presented his case. He discovered that the nuns of the convent were venerating their founder as a saint, even though she had been condemned and exiled by Rome. Worse, their young novice mistress, Maria Luisa, was being treated as a living saint, credited with miraculous powers. Further investigations revealed generational repetition of lesbian rituals and sexual abuses, affairs with priests, embezzling of funds and murders to hush up troublesome nuns. In the end, the accused were punished, the nuns dispersed, the building razed, and even the graves of certain nuns removed. Sant’Ambrogio was to be wiped from history, and nearly was so, for well over a century. Wolf has expertly recovered and retold this scandalous tale in all its gory, as well as bureaucratic, detail. He also provides readers with ample background to comprehend the geopolitical and ecclesiastical tapestry against which this drama played out. However, modern readers are left wondering what lessons this story has to teach today. Is the tale of Sant’Ambrogio simply a titillation of history, or does it speak to deeper issues of the church? Wolf is largely silent on that count.
An eye-opening story of evil in a holy place.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-35190-4
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2014
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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